Heroes, Icons, History and Memory:

Dan Hammett, conference chair

It was such an honor to be your on site chair. There were many individuals who graciously
contributed their time and energy to the conference. On behalf of the Texas community
it was such a pleasure to welcome you to Texas. Each NCECA conference has a central
theme, ours being Heroes, Icons, History, Memory. The history of NCECA is recorded
with the works of its members. You are the most important record of its history. Chairing
this conference is my way of repaying my years of wonderful memories. Giving of oneself
to the organization, is a great way to honor it. After all, if you're not careful,
you too might be an on site chair someday.

Hopefully this conference allowed the visual icons of our organization to become more
visible and accessible to all of us and especially to the students. This was clearly
marked by the Honors and Fellows exhibition at the Modern in Sundance Square. What
a jewel! In honoring our fellows we honored ourselves. The images you had the opportunity
to view in each of the 40 exhibitions during the conference should have clearly told
you that ceramics is alive and well in Texas.

I personally would like to thank the University of Dallas, the Art Department, and
my students for allowing me to share my time with you... In organizing the Conference
from a local level. Special thanks to my wife Sheryl and Nathalie Souedian, my incredible
assistant for the conference. Thanks also to FigDesign for the chance to revisit some of the conference exhibits through this web site.
You all were a Godsend!

We regret that we are unable to represent all of the artists who participated at NCECA
'98 on this site, but hope that the randomly selected works we show will offer a sense
of the vast talent that was present. There were two exhibitions that are not shown
on this site that deserved a special recognition: The first was the show at the Dallas
Museum of Art, "Clay Traditions". The transition of the integrity and quality from
one generation to the next is beautiful. Secondly for the first year the 1st K-12
National Juried Exhibition. The quality of tomorrow's generation is truly remarkable.

P.S. If you think that NCECA should make this type of post conference information
available on a designated web site please let NCECA know. Contact the office at NCECA, or call 1-866-266-2322.

Exhibitions at NCECA 1998

Clay Traditions

This exhibition appears in conjunction with the National Council of Education in the
Ceramic Arts' (NCECA) 32nd annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas, March 25-28, 1998.
The NCECA conference theme, "Heroes, Icons, History, and Memory," and the overall
mission of the organization to promote ceramic education inspired the concept.

The tradition of teaching is woven through the history of ceramics. Teachers mentor
their students, passing down ceramic traditions to the next generation. These teachers
function as guides, providing examples of what can be accomplished over a lifetime.
Though the teacher and artist roles require different characteristics, the instructors
in this exhibition have been able to combine the two successfully. These two generations
of artists provide a cross section of contemporary work in clay. The educators in
the exhibition teach at a variety of institutions including state and private universities,
art schools, community colleges, craft centers and high schools. Each has made a
meaningful contribution to the tradition of teaching clay.

Lee AkinsProfessor of ArtCollin County Community CollegePlano, TX

Aileen HoranHead of Family Education & Community ProgramsDallas Musuem of ArtDallas, TX